Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Unfinished Episode 6: A Distant Echo

What is it ? : Rex decides they should attempt to rescue Echo after detecting his signal from Skako Minor, but it is a neutral planet and Obi-Wan points out this action is rash. Rex tells him that even if Echo isn't there, they still need to stop the Algorithm, and is backed by Anakin who accompanies him and the Bad Batch on their mission.
They take the Bad Batch's ship to Skako Minor, and are attacked by an inhabitant of the planet riding a beast, who kidnaps Anakin. As they rescue him the inhabitants tell them that they don't want the war coming to their world, and Rex explains they are just trying to rescue a comrade and then they'll leave.
Heading to the Separatist base, they express that this may be a trap, but head in regardless.
Searching the base they encounter a new type of Battle Droid, the D-Wing, and are contacted by Wat Tambor, who tells them they've walked into a trap by invading a neutral world, but they fight their way out of the trap, and find a cryo pod containing Echo, who has been cybernetically altered, and they begin freeing him.

High Points : The storyline is the real selling point of this episode, with some interesting elements, from the natives who are primitive, but still advanced enough to not want the Clone Wars to come to their world, the nose artwork on the Bad Batch's ship offending Anakin by showing a scantily clad Amidala, and the rescue of Echo, used against his will against the Republic. Plenty of things going on, although they're only briefly touched on here.

A new type of Battle Droid is introduced, the D-Wing, and it actually seems like an evolution of the traditional Battle Droids. The Super Battle Droid and the larger droids such as the Spider Droids, all are very different designs to the B1 Battle Droid, and don't appear to be part of the same family at all, but the D-Wing has the same personality as the B1, and looks familiar enough to be designed by the same people using the same parts.

Everyone needs something to fight for, and the Bad Batch fight for Amidala, watching her speeches, and having a image of a Scantily Dressed version of her on the nose of their ship. Anakin doesn't approve, but it goes back to the nose artwork of WW2 bombers, and even if the Clones are genetically modified, they're still men, and it only seems natural they'd find her attractive.

Low Points : If Skako Minor is neutral, why can the Separatists build a base and have large military forces there? That's surely breaking the definition of Neutral, and if you could do that, then just declare all your planets Neutral, and the enemy isn't allowed to attack.

So what do you really think ? : Another good episode with a lot going on, I do feel as if the modifications to Echo are a bit of a cop out by the script writers, but perhaps showing Echo broken by torture both mental and physical would be too much to show the kids these stories are targeted at.

Final Words : Fingers crossed the high quality of these episodes keep up, with only 2 to go till the very end of the series, I want it to end on a high rather than on a fail.

Score : 8/10

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